Air diffuser for high velocity hvac systems

ABSTRACT

The air diffuser which is designed to be attached to an air supply duct comprises a cannister having a closed and an air inlet pipe proximate its closed end for attachment to the air supply duct. The cannister also includes attachment means proximate its open end so that the cannister can be secured to a supporting frame. A hollow sleeve having an open bottom end is slidingly insertable into the open end of the cannister, and at its top end is provided with a first array of air discharge ports. Co-operating means are located on an interior sidewall of the cannister and an exterior sidewall of the sleeve which permits the sleeve and the cannister to be telescoped together in a non-rotational relationship and which also enables the sleeve to be detachably connected to the cannister at selected telescopic positions. An air diffuser cap provided with a second array of air discharge ports overlies the top end of the sleeve and its associated first array of air discharge ports and is rotationally movable relative thereto to thereby control the passage of air through the discharge ports of both arrays.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an air diffuser or vent of the type for usewith high velocity HVAC systems.

BACKGROUND

A common shortcoming of air discharge vents or diffusers which areconnected to high velocity air ducts as used in heating, ventilating,and air conditioning (HVAC) systems is, inter alia, the generation ofunwanted air noise when attempting to dampen the speed of pressurizedair at or near the point of discharge into an open space, such as aroom. Prevost in U.S. Pat. No. 6,800,024 issued Oct. 5, 2004 discloses adamper arrangement when damping and diffusing air supplied from a HVAChigh velocity system, which involves a termination receptacle or boot inthe form of a cylindrical cannister attached to an air supply duct. Thecannister at its upper or top end includes a supporting flange forattaching the cannister to a supporting framework, such as the undersideof a floor. A cylindrical damper sleeve having a cutout in its bottomend and which is telescopically received within the cannister, isrotatable about its axis such that when aligned with the air inletopening in the cannister, unobstructed pressurized air is permitted toenter into the cannister and which can be partially or fully shut off bycausing the sleeve to rotate relative to the air inlet opening in thecannister. The sleeve which is attached to the vent plate is insertedthrough an aperture in a room facing, such as a ceiling, wall or floorand then into the cannister. Rotation of the vent plate also rotates thesleeve and its cut-out relative to the air inlet pipe to the cannisterthereby controlling the rate of air flow into the cannister.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The novel air diffuser of this invention, like the air diffuserarrangement disclosed by Prevost, involves the use of a cannister,sleeve and diffuser cap or vent plate but which interact in a mannerdifferent from that taught by Prevost and which results in improved easeof installation and operation.

In accordance with this invention, the novel air diffuser which isdesigned to be attached to a air supply duct, comprises a cannisterhaving a closed end and a open end, an air inlet pipe connected to anexterior sidewall of the cannister proximate its closed end forattachment to the air supply conduit and which is in air communicationwith an interior of the cannister. The cannister also includesattachment means proximate the open end of the cannister so that thecannister can be secured to a supporting frame, such as the underside ofa floor or to a floor supporting joist, wall stud or the inside surfaceof wall or ceiling facing or sheathing material. A hollow sleeve havingan open bottom end is slidingly insertable into the open end of thecannister and at its top end, is provided with a first array of airdischarge ports. Co-operating means are located on an interior sidewallof the cannister and an exterior sidewall of the sleeve which permit thesleeve and the cannister to be telescoped together in a non-rotationalrelationship and which also enable the sleeve to be detachably connectedto the cannister at selected one or more telescopic positions.

An air diffuser cap overlies and is connected to the top end of thesleeve and is provided with a second array of air discharge ports.Because the cap is also rotationally moveable relative to the sleeve, itcan be moved from a first open position where the discharge ports of thefirst and second arrays are aligned for th free passage of airtherethrough, and a second closed position where the air dischargepassages of the first and second arrays are completely out of alignmentand the passage of air therethrough is effectively blocked.

Since the spacing between the air diffuser cap which is normally locatedinterior of a room on a wall, floor or ceiling facing, and which is alsoconnected to the sleeve, relative to the open end of the cannister(located on the opposite side of the facing), can vary, and is usually afunction of the thickness of the floor, wall or ceiling through whichthe sleeve extends, either the sleeve proximate its top end or thediffuser cap, is provided with abutment means which projects radiallyoutwardly therefrom for engaging the room interior facing, such as thefloor facing or the ceiling facing, to thereby limit the extent to whichthe sleeve can be telescopically inserted into the cannister and torender the cap effectively flush or substantially flush with the facing.

When the discharge ports of the first and second arrays are aligned inthe first open position in order to maximize the passage of airtherethrough, the ratio of this air exhaust opening to the air inletpipe opening in the cannister is greater than 1:1 thereby relieving allback pressure within the cannister with an attendant reduction in airexhaust noise. Allowing the full volume of air to exhaust unrestrictedinto the room also allows for more even heating/cooling dispersion inthe room and a more comfortable atmosphere.

While the cannister and sleeve can be of any complimentarycross-sectional form of construction e.g. rectangular or triangular, itis preferred that both be cylindrical in shape.

The co-operating means which permits the sleeve and the cannister to betelescoped together in a non-rotational relationship can include anelongate guide rail on one of the exterior side walls of the sleeve andan interior sidewall of said cannister and which is in slidingengagement with an elongate guide groove on the other of the exteriorsidewall of the sleeve and interior sidewall of the cannister.Similarly, the co-operating means which enables the sleeve to bedetachably connected to the cannister at a selected telescopic position,can include at least one row of spaced apart recesses in one of theexterior sidewalls of the sleeve and the interior of the cannister and acomplimentary row or number of rows of spaced apart projections on theother of the exterior sidewall of the sleeve and interior sidewall ofthe cannister, whereby a fixed number of recesses detachably engage acorresponding number of projections when the cannister and the sleeveare at a desired telescopic position. Preferably, both the guide railand the row of spaced apart recesses are located on the exteriorsidewall of the sleeve.

Advantageously, and preferably when the sleeve and cannister arecylindrical in shape, the diffuser cap can include an annular skirtwhich is rotatably connected to the exterior sidewall of the sleeveproximate its top end. Since the sleeve does not rotate relative to thecannister, rotation of the diffuser cap relative to the sleeve causesthe discharge ports in the first and second arrays, and which can beusually seen, to move between a fully open and fully closed position.Further, the abutment means which engages the sheathing or facing on theside opposite to the side where the cannister is located, can simplycomprise an annular flange ring or disc which surrounds the diffusercap.

In situations where the open bottom end of the sleeve, uponinstallation, could extend sufficiently far into the cannister so as tootherwise either fully or partially block the air inlet pipe, thesidewall of the sleeve adjacent the pipe opening can be notched or cutout, so that the opening is not obstructed by the sidewall of thesleeve, no matter what its relative telescopic position within thecannister may be.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the air diffuser of this invention whenin the assembled condition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cannister portion of the airdiffuser;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective views respectively of the air diffuser capfrom its bottom end and the sleeve from its top end.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are similar perspective views to that of FIGS. 3 and 4 butwherein the abutment means is located on the sleeve rather than on thediffuser cap; and

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the relative positioning ofthe cannister located on one side of a facing, to the cap and itsassociated sleeve which extends through an aperture in the facing andinto the cannister.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

With reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7, the novel diffuser isconstructed from three basic components, namely cylindrical cannister200, cylindrical sleeve 300 and air diffuser cap 400.

As illustrated, cylindrical cannister 200 includes exterior sidewall201, interior sidewall 202, bottom wall 203, mounting flange 204,attachment holes 205 and air inlet pipe 206 which is attached to an airsupply duct or conduit (not shown) in a manner well known in the art.

Further, and best illustrated in FIG. 2, interior sidewall 202 ofcannister 200 includes an elongate guide groove 207 and two opposed rowsof recesses or notches, the function of which is explained in greaterdetail below.

Cylindrical sleeve 300 best seen in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7, is provided withan open bottom end 301 and a cylindrical exterior sidewall 303 having acut-out or notch 305 its bottom end. The other top end 302 of sleeve 300is provided with a first array of air discharge ports 304. Exteriorsidewall 303 is provided with two rows of opposed and spaced apartprojections 306, and guide rail 309.

In order to enable sleeve 300 to be slidingly and/or telescopicallyinserted into cannister 200, guide rail 309 on exterior wall 303 ofsleeve 300 must be aligned with guide groove 207 on cannister 200. Byaligning guide rail 309 with guide groove 207, the row of notches 208provided in the interior sidewall 202 of cannister 200 are brought intoalignment with the two rows of projections 306 located on the exteriorsidewall 303 of sleeve 300. By virtue of this arrangement, sleeve 300,due to the interaction of guide rail 309 with guide groove 207, can onlybe telescoped within cannister 200 in a non-rotational manner. Further,and as the two parts are undergoing telescopic action, the two rows ofprojections 306 are permitted to detachably engage correspondingrecesses in the two rows of recesses 208 in the interior sidewall 202 ofcannister 200.

When cannister 200 and sleeve 300 are telescoped together at a desiredlocation, it will be apparent that a fixed number of recesses in theinterior sidewall 202 of the cannister engage in a detachable manner(upon pulling or pushing sleeve 300) a corresponding number ofprojections 306 in the exterior sidewall 303 of sleeve 300.

As cut-out 305 provided in sidewall 303 of sleeve 300 is effectively inline with air inlet pipe 206 of cannister 200, it will be evident thatsleeve 300, even when fully inserted into cannister 200, does not in anyway impede the flow of air into interior 202 of the cannister 200 fromair inlet pipe 206.

As best seen with reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 7, the free or top end 302of sleeve 300, as mentioned earlier, is provided with a first array ofair ducts 304. As illustrated in these figures, air diffuser cap 400 isprovided with a second identical array of air discharge ports 401 whichoverlie the ports 304 of the first array located on the top end 302 ofsleeve 300. Cap 400 is provided with annular skirt 403 which as shown,includes a pair of laterally opposed snap tangs 404 which are receivedin a corresponding pair of slots 308 in sidewall of sleeve 300. Thesetangs 404 which are engaged in snap engagement with slots 308 (only onebeing illustrated), due to the longitudinal extent of the slots, permitcap 400 to be rotated back and forth within the slots resulting in theopening and closing of second array of discharge ports 401 relativedischarge ports 304 on sleeve 300 which are positioned therebelow.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 7, cap 400 which is rotatably attached tosleeve 300 includes an annular flange 405 which, as best seen in FIG. 7,is designed to abutingly engage facing surface 501 of floor 500 whensleeve 300 is inserted through circular cut-out 503 and into theinterior 202 of cannister 200. Since cap 400 is attached to sleeve 300,it will be apparent that ring 405 upon insertion of the sleeve into thecannister, will engage facing surface 501 of floor 500 and thereby limitthe extent to which the sleeve can be inserted into the cannister. Whenin this position, the sleeve and cannister are held in position due tothe interaction of the recesses in the cannister with the projections onthe sleeve. Further, once in situ, the degree of air discharge from thecannister can be controlled from the facing side, merely by rotating cap400 relative to non-rotational sleeve 300 since the first and secondarrays are identical, and thus both sets of air discharge ports can berendered fully opened or closed.

With particular reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, the diffuser cap and sleevearrangement as illustrated therein can be contrasted with the cap andsleeve discussed earlier in connection with FIGS. 3, 4 and 7. As seen inFIG. 5, cap 400, while including skirt 403 and snap tangs 404, does notinclude the surrounding flange or ring 405 best illustrated in FIG. 3.Rather, a surrounding ring or flange 310 is provided proximate the topend 302 of sleeve 300. In this arrangement, the underside of flange 310on skirt 300 is intended to engage a floor, wall or ceiling facing inthe same manner that the underside of flange 405 of cap 400 seen in FIG.7 is intended to engage facing 501 when the skirt 300 is insertedthrough aperture 503 from the facing side into cannister 200.

1. An air diffuser for attachment to an air supply duct, said diffuser comprising: (a) a cannister having a closed end and an open end, an air inlet pipe connected to an exterior sidewall of said cannister proximate said closed end for attachment to said air supply duct and which is in air communication with an interior of said cannister, and attachment means proximate said open end for securing said cannister to a supporting frame; (b) a hollow sleeve having an open bottom end slidingly insertable into said open end of said cannister and a top end provided with a first array of air discharge ports; (c) co-operating means on an interior sidewall of said cannister and an exterior sidewall of said sleeve permitting said sleeve and said cannister to be telescoped together in a non-rotational relationship and enabling the sleeve to be detachably connected to said cannister at selected telescopic positions; (d) an air diffuser cap overlying and connected to said top end of said sleeve and having a second array of air discharge ports, said cap being rotationally movable relative to said sleeve between a first open position where the discharge ports of the first and second array are aligned for the passage of air therethrough and a second closed position where the air discharge passages of said first and second arrays are not aligned and the passage of air therethrough is blocked; and (e) one of said sleeve proximate its top end and said air diffuser cap including abutment means projecting radially outwardly therefrom for engaging a facing disposed between said abutment means and said mounting framework to thereby limit the extent said sleeve can be telescopically inserted into said cannister.
 2. The air diffuser as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cannister and said sleeve are cylindrical in shape and wherein said co-operating means permitting said sleeve and said connector to be telescoped together in a non-rotational relationship includes an elongate guide rail on one of said exterior sidewall of said sleeve and interior sidewall of said cannister which is in sliding engagement with an elongate guide groove on the other of said exterior sidewall of said sleeve and interior sidewall of said cannister.
 3. The air diffuser as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cannister and said sleeve are cylindrical in shape and wherein said co-operating means enabling the sleeve to be detachably connected to said cannister at selected telescopic positions includes a row of spaced apart recesses in one of said exterior sidewall of said sleeve and said interior sidewall of said cannister and a complimentary row of spaced apart projections on the other of said exterior sidewall of said sleeve and said interior sidewall of said cannister whereby a fixed number of recesses detachably engage a corresponding number of projections when said cannister and said sleeve are at one of said selected telescopic positions.
 4. The air diffuser as claimed in claim 2 wherein said co-operating means enabling the sleeve to be detachably connected to said cannister at selected telescopic positions includes a row of spaced apart recesses in one of said exterior sidewall of said sleeve and said interior sidewall of said cannister and a complimentary row of spaced apart projections on the other of said exterior sidewall of said sleeve and said interior sidewall of said cannister whereby a fixed number of recesses detachably engage a corresponding number of projections when said cannister and said sleeve are at one of said selected telescopic positions.
 5. The air diffuser as claimed in claim 2 wherein said guide rail is on said exterior sidewall of said sleeve.
 6. The air diffuser as claimed in claim 3 wherein said row of spaced apart recesses is in the exterior side wall of said sleeve.
 7. The air diffuser as claimed in claim 4 wherein said guide rail and said row of spaced apart recesses are located on said exterior sidewall of said sleeve.
 8. The air diffuser as claimed in claim 4 wherein said diffuser cap includes an annular skirt which is rotationally connected to said exterior sidewall of said sleeve proximate said top end.
 9. The air diffuser as claimed in claim 8 wherein said abutment means comprises an annular flange surrounding said diffuser cap.
 10. The air diffuser as claimed in claim 4 wherein said first and second arrays of discharge ports are identical in configuration.
 11. The air diffuser as claimed in claim 4 wherein said hollow sleeve at its said bottom end adjacent said air inlet pipe includes an opening which permits the passage of air from said air inlet pipe into the interior of said cannister when said sleeve is fully inserted into said cannister. 